EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PHOTO: COURTESY OF CLOUD GATE DANCE THEATER

Those wanting a little comedy with their musical could do no better than to check out LAN Creators' (嵐創作體) production of the off-Broadway musical I Love You, You Are Perfect, Now Change. The show, with its snappy dialogue and contemporary themes and narrated sketches a la Seinfeld, follows a time line in the lives of several different characters spanning five decades. LAN Creators are attempting something relatively new in Taiwan by having a one-month run with two alternating casts.

▲ Every evening except Mondays at 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm; until Nov. 30

▲ Tickets are NT$750 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing, Eslite Bookstore and Fnac, or online at www.artsticket.com.tw

Long-term Taipei residents often remember with fondness the exotic China Plaza (中華商場) before it was torn down in the 1980s. The market has now become part of the setting for Ping Fong Acting Troupe's (屏風表演班) play Apocalypse of Beijing Theater (京戲啟示錄). The work combines writer/director Hugh Lee's (李國修) childhood experiences with the market as a backdrop, his relationship with his father and the day-to-day reality of running a theater group. Li's father was a famous haberdasher for Beijing opera companies, which allowed the writer free reign to explore the operatic tradition throughout the 20th century.

▲ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing, Eslite Bookstores and Fnac, or online at www.artsticket.com.tw

Hayavadana is one of Girish Karnad's most popular plays. It will be performed by EX-Theater Asia (亞洲劇團) and directed by Chongtham Jayanta Meetei. With a text that begs experimentation, the plot and sub-plot intertwine to explore existential questions. The main narrative follows the story of Hayavadana, a horse-headed man whose quest for wholeness underscores the play's exploration of identity and reality.

▲ Tickets are NT$200 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw

Last week's performance of Happy Wonderland was canceled because of lackluster ticket sales. The show, a family-oriented production by one of the only black light theater troupes working and traveling throughout Taiwan, will take the stage in Ilan.

▲ Tickets are NT$200 to NT$500 and are available through NTCH ticket or online at www.artsticket.com.tw

暗殺Q3 … GO, Assasination, is a whodunit mystery complete with a detective who excels in criminal psychology and the methods of interrogation, an informant and murder witness. As this is a play in the tradition of experimental theater, expect the production to veer off from the detective story and comment about contemporary theatrical practices.